Overview
Fields are added to a meta box via the key fields. Each field is an array which contains settings to determine where and how data is loaded and saved. All fields share some common settings, but also offer unique settings per field type.
Common settings
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
name |
Field label. Optional. If empty, the field input is 100% width. |
id |
Field ID. Required and must be unique. It will be used as meta_key when saving to the database. It’s a good practice to use only numbers, letters, and underscores. |
type |
Field type. Required. See below. |
desc |
Field description, displayed below the field input. Optional. |
label_description |
Label description, displayed below the field label. Optional. |
std |
Default value. Optional. |
multiple |
Does the field have multiple values (like the select field)? Optional. Default false. |
class |
Custom CSS class, in case you want to customize the field. Optional. |
before |
Custom HTML outputted before field’s HTML. |
after |
Custom HTML outputted after field’s HTML. |
clone |
Is the field clonable (repeatable)? true or false. Optional. Default false. |
max_clone |
Maximum number of clones. Optional. Default 0 (unlimited). |
sort_clone |
Ability to drag-and-drop reorder clones (true or false). Optional. Default false. |
clone_default |
Clone the default value of fields? true or false (default). |
add_button |
The text for Add more clone button. Optional. Default “+ Add more”. |
clone_as_multiple |
Whether to store clone values in multiple rows in the database? Optional. Default false. See this post for details. |
attributes |
Custom attributes for inputs. See more details. |
save_field |
Whether to save field value. Optional. Default true. This option doesn’t work in the block editor (Gutenberg). |
sanitize_callback |
Custom PHP callback for sanitizing field value before saving into the database. Set it to none to bypass the sanitization. See more details. |
If you’re using Meta Box Builder, and you don’t find these settings, please go to Advanced tab and add a custom attribute with the setting name and custom value. See the screenshot below for setting sanitize_callback to none:
Field types
Below is the list of all supported field types with brief description:
| Field Type | Description |
|---|---|
autocomplete |
Text input that uses jQuery autocomplete library to perform the autocomplete action. |
background |
Set background properties. Added in version 4.13.0. |
button |
Display simple button. Usually used for JavaScript triggers. |
button_group |
Select one or multiple choices by enabling button(s) from a group. Added in version 4.13.0. |
checkbox |
Checkbox. |
checkbox_list |
List of checkboxes. |
color |
Color picker. |
custom_html |
Output custom HTML content. |
date |
Date picker. |
datetime |
Date and time picker. |
divider |
Simple horizontal line. |
fieldset_text |
Group of text inputs. |
file |
Simple file upload with default UI like <input type="file" />. |
file_advanced |
File upload with WordPress media popup. |
file_input |
Enter file URL or select a file from media library. |
file_upload |
File upload with drag and drop area. |
heading |
Heading text. |
hidden |
Input field with hidden type. |
image |
Similar to file but for images only. |
image_advanced |
Similar to file_advanced, but for images only. |
image_select |
Similar to radio select, but use images instead of “radio”. |
image_upload or plupload_image |
Similar to file_upload but for images only. |
key_value |
Add an unlimited group of key-value pairs. |
map |
Google maps. |
number |
Input for numbers which uses HTML5 input type="number". |
oembed |
Input for media from Youtube, Vimeo and all supported sites by WordPress. |
password |
Password input. |
post |
Select dropdown for posts. |
radio |
Radio input. |
range |
HTML 5 range input. |
select |
Select dropdown. |
select_advanced |
Beautiful select dropdown using select2 library. |
single_image |
Select or upload a single image via WordPress media popup. Added in version 4.13.0. |
slider |
jQuery UI slider. |
switch |
On/off switch with iOS style. Added in version 4.13.0. |
taxonomy |
Select dropdown for taxonomy terms. Doesn’t save term IDs in post meta, but set post terms. |
taxonomy_advanced |
Same as taxonomy but saves term IDs in post meta as a comma separated string. It doesn’t set post terms. |
text |
Text field. |
text_list |
Group of text inputs. Similar to fieldset_text. |
textarea |
Textarea field. |
time |
Time picker. |
user |
Select dropdown for users. |
video |
Upload or select a video from the Media Library using the WordPress media popup. |
wysiwyg |
WordPress editor. |
In addition to the above field types, you can also use HTML5 input types. See this guide for details.
Default value
The mechanism of std in Meta Box works only if the meta box has not been saved before. Here “meta box” means all fields in that meta box, not just the specific field that you set the std for. So if there’s any field that already has value, then std won’t work for other fields, even new fields you’ve just added.
Examples:
When you create a new post, then no fields have values (of course), then std works for all fields.
When you edit an existing post that has a meta box, then some fields might have values. Therefore, std doesn’t work for all fields. In this case, if you edit the meta box and add a new field, std still doesn’t work for that new field (even it has no value before), because the meta box has been saved before.
Field-specific settings
Besides all common settings, each field type can have its own settings. Please see more details for each field type on the left menu (section “Fields”).
To save time read and write settings for fields, we’ve already prepared some code examples that you can get from Meta Box Code Snippet Library.